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AR-14 DEW Assault Rifle
The AR-14 DEW (Directed Energy Weapon) Assault Rifle was an infantry weapon used by The Royal Allegiance during the Swarm War. Introduction The AR-14 DEW Assault Rifle was introduced in 2724 as a versatile, adaptable weapon capable of engaging enemies at short range. It was the first energy weapon to be employed by The Allegiance, its success resulted eventually resulted in the almost complete abandonment of ballistic weapons. The weapon was favoured by the majority of Allegiance soldiers, in much the same way as the UNSC's MA5C Assault Rifle. Despite its name as an assault rifle, it was designed for usage as almost any field weapon, albeit through its many modifications and variants. Usage The Baseline Model By 2733, the AR-41 was the standard issue weapon in the Royal Allegiance. It was issued to the majority of Army personnel, save for Army Air Corps pilots, and the Allegiance Marines, the Allegiance's shipboard armed force. Naval pilots, belonging to the Navy Air Corps, were issued with pistols and carbines instead of this weapon. The weapon had a 98% accuracy at 300m, which was the optimal engaging range. It was used to great effect during the Swarm War, where the high-powered bolts seemed more capable at bringing down massive enemies than other weapons such as kinetic energy weapons, which lacked the ability to penetrate much of the Swarm force's armour. There were two main variants- a standard (suffix -S) and a heavy version (suffix -H). The heavy version was heavier and more bulky but had less recoil, a higher rate of fire and a larger blast diameter due to its wider barrel. The standard version was far more lightweight and easy to carry but had much more recoil, a lower rate of fire and a smaller blast. The heavy version had a differing magazine and larger stock than the standard version, but both weapons featured the same accessory rails. Modifications could be made to both weapons in the same way but often were only made to one type of weapon. For instance, either a standard or a heavy AR-14 could be modified into a sharpshooter variant, with the additions of barrel energy channelers, longer external barrel and optical sight, all of which could be easily fitted onto both types of weapon. However, a -S weapon was very rarely modified to become a squad automatic weapon variant because it was less sturdy and could not function as efficiently in the role as the -H version. Both versions were rather large, at almost a metre in length, and the -H version was quite heavy and chunky too. The stock was large on both types but more rigid on the -H version to help the user withstand the considerable recoil from the weapon. The magazine was large even for an energy weapon, a considerable disadvantage in close quarters but giving it a magazine capacity of roughly 100 shots, depending on the power settings. It was not very useful in its standard configuration for close quarters combat due to the weight and size of the weapon. They were favoured by the more skilled Allegiance soldiers, who could overcome the weapon's shortcomings to see through to its many advantages. The AR-41 had three modes of fire. The first, continuous fire, or fully automatic, was usually used at close ranges when accuracy was not needed. It was not a common nor popular mode of fire due to the heavy recoil the gun produced. The second mode was burst fire, which fired a burst of three bolts in short succession. This was the most commonly used mode and was excellent for picking off targets one by one at long ranges. This mode of fire was favoured by most soldiers for its ease of use, long range, high energy and accuracy. The third mode was semi-automatic, firing just one bolt for each pull of the trigger. This mode was effective at all ranges but would generally just melt away the external layer of armour, rather than doing lasting damage, so multiple shots (three or four) are normally needed to penetrate tough personal armour. This mode was sometimes used as a field replacement for proper, long range sniper rifles. This mode was also good for conserving ammo when cut off from supply lines or fellow soldiers. Both models could be used with or without a 40mm grenade launcher mounted on an accessory rail underneath the barrel. This modification gave the weapon a new dimension to its usage. The weapon was constructed from lightweight FRP (fibre-reinforced polymer) made of a polymer matrix reinforced with fibres (a carbon fibre/kevlar mix). The material allowed for a lightweight though immensely strong construction. Variants The AR-14 had a number of variants in addition to the two basic rifle types. This was made possible by numerous accessory rails mounted both on top and on the bottom of the weapon. Sharpshooter Variant The AR-14 Sharpshooter variant featured an elongated barrel with increased energy channeling features, increasing range to about 1,050m. The Sharpshooter variant was still capable of full automatic firing mode but it was largely overlooked in favour of burst fire and single shot instead. The weapon included an advanced optical sight to aid considerably in aiming. The sight was similar to the SUSAT-style sight fitted to the BR662-SHR Battle Rifle. The weapon was not designed to be used as a sniper rifle, but merely to provide extra range for a few select troopers in a squad. The gun was made from the same lightweight materials as the standard model though it was heavier due to the additional channeling mechanisms in the barrel and the large scope. The magazine was kept at 100 rounds. As a result of its heavier weight and longer range, the Sharpshooter variant was often referred to as a battle rifle itself, despite technically being an assault rifle. Carbine Variant The AR-14 carbine variant had a shorter internal barrel, meaning that the gun was much shorter than the standard model. The heavy stock on the standard model was replaced with a much smaller, retractable one that could also be completely removed. The removal of the large stock made recoil a significant problem, although shock absorbers neutralised most of the recoil from the weapon. The accessory rail on top of the weapon was made much shorter, and the heavy underbarrel grenade launcher was also removed. This made way for a new handgrip under the barrel which was necessary to control the weapon in fully automatic mode. The magazine was more than 60% smaller than the standard variant although could hold around 45 shots depending on the power settings. The rapid-fire capabilities meant the weapon was extremely potent at close range, though the much shorter length of the gun meant that range was decreased to about 180m. The weapon was popular with pilots, vehicle crews and HALO Pod troops, who either were limited for space or weight. The weapon was also popular with Marines, who used the carbine to great effect in close-quarters firefights in tight ship corridors and areas. Automatic Rifle Variant The AR-14 Automatic Rifle or SAW (squad automatic weapon) variant was for use as a fully automatic machine gun-substitute by one man, portably on the battlefield. With this weapon, a single soldier was able to lay down heavy covering fire to assist his squadmates, or quickly set up a mobile field turret in a defensive location. It featured a heavy purpose barrel, both internal and external, enabling sustained fully automatic fire. The weapon did not feature a single-shot or burst fire mode. The magazine was increased in capacity to 150 rounds. The weapon featured a folding bipod attached to the forward handguard and a small, ACOG-style 2x scope for more accurate firing. It had an effective range of 900m and was the heaviest variant, similar to a dedicated SAW in terms of weight and usage. Behind The Scenes *The AR-14 Assault Rifle is heavily based on the XM8 lightweight assault rifle. Both weapons feature the same variants, and the buttstock on the carbine variant is modeled directly from the XM8's stock. *The standard and heavy types of the rifle is similar to the real-life SCAR which comes in light and heavy versions with differing calibres. However, the AR-14 has different versions in addition to the various configurations for a different reason. The -H version was the first type, then the author refined what he felt to be a large and rather ugly-looking rifle. The -S lighter version is the stripped-down and modified version of the same image. Category:Weapons Category:Weapons of The Royal Allegiance